Chapter 18
Hoshina Soshiro has been very troubled recently. He has repeatedly reflected on himself and made sure that he has never done anything out of line or overly harsh to Kurozuka Kirishi.
Even when it came to punishing lazy teammates during training, it was never her turn. After all, she was always the one who performed the most standard and was the most silent. She was so obedient that people could rest assured.
So, what exactly went wrong? Why did she look away as soon as she saw him, as if she wanted to take a detour immediately?
The baffled deputy captain decided to seek help from his colleague and superior, Ya Baimina.
"Wait a minute," Yabai Mina put down the document she was reviewing and looked up at Hoshina Soshiro, who looked troubled and even a little dejected. "Repeat the last paragraph again."
Hoshina Soshiro didn't understand what was going on, but he still repeated what he had just said: "Just... a few days ago, on that rainy night, I ran into her at the door of the office building, and she said she came to pick me up."
Yabai Mina looked at him completely oblivious and sighed helplessly, but the corners of her lips curved slightly: "Don't you really understand?"
"Obvious what?"
"She likes you." Yabai Mina threw out a conclusion in a steady tone, as if stating an obvious fact.
Hoshina Soshiro: "...Wait, this isn't right?"
His face was filled with disbelief. "Is it possible that she just trusts me and sees me as a senior or... a friend she can rely on?"
Before he could finish his words, Yabai Mina quickly interrupted him: "I'm not talking about that kind of love."
She glanced at him suspiciously, and Hoshina Soshiro felt a little nervous.
But fortunately, Yabai Mina didn't think too much about it. She continued, "From what I've observed, Team Kurozuka isn't the type to actively express intimacy."
"So the fact that she went out of her way to find you might also mean that in her heart, your relationship might have crossed a line." As she spoke, her fingertips tapped the pen unconsciously, while her other hand quietly slid towards the drawer.
"Why are you so focused on her? I noticed it a long time ago." The moment the words fell -
"Click", the crisp shutter sound suddenly rang out.
Hoshina Soshiro instantly woke up from his depressed mood, and looked up to see Yabai Mina calmly putting down her phone.
On the screen was a precious image of him with his head hung down, brows furrowed, and a look of being "trapped in love"!
"Captain!!! Please stop recording my dark history at this time!" He reacted immediately, pointing at his phone and shouting, the depression on his face was instantly replaced by anger.
"Gou Mie Gou Mie (Sorry, sorry)." Yabai Mina put down the phone without any apology on her face. Instead, there was a hint of smile in her eyes.
She immediately regained her calm and professional demeanor, as if she wasn't the one taking the sneak shot. "I just thought this rare moment was worth preserving. Please continue."
Soshiro Hoshina: "..."
He rubbed his brows and suddenly felt that coming to discuss this matter with Yabai Mina might be a bit of a trap in itself, but he still sighed and continued.
His thoughts drifted back to the past, that was a sunny afternoon, at the corner of the alley, when he first encountered Kurozuka Wushi.
At that time, she carefully picked up a wounded orange cat, untied the bandage wrapped around her arm, and tried to bandage the cat's bleeding hind legs.
The bandages fell apart, revealing not the expected skin—beneath it was a dense, hideous patchwork of scars, wantonly and ostentatiously covering her arms, shocking to the eye.
"...I knew then that Kurozuka might have a tendency to self-harm, and his mental state needed special attention." Hoshina Soshiro's voice lowered, with a subtle hint of worry.
"That's why I've been paying extra attention to her. She was clearly getting better before, and she seemed a little more relaxed, but lately... for some reason, she seems to have retreated into her shell again, and even started avoiding me."
Yabai Mina listened quietly, observing the genuine worry in his eyes, and then she slowed down her tone, speaking gently and soothingly:
"You may be overly concerned. In my opinion, her recent withdrawal isn't necessarily a sign of worsening conditions. Instead, it could be due to changes in certain emotions or relationships that have caused her confusion and uncertainty."
She paused and offered advice: "Perhaps the best approach right now is to remain calm and treat her the same way as before. No need to ask too many questions, and no need to be overly protective."
"What some people need is not to be constantly led through the fog, but when they are wandering, someone can firmly reach out to them and tell them 'I am here'. That is enough."
As soon as the words fell, a shrill alarm sounded suddenly, and the commander Kokoroki Yoshimi's anxious voice came from the headset.
"Captain, Vice-Captain, something bad has happened! Something has happened to the rookie team's subjugation of a level 4.8 monster. Monster No. 3 has appeared!"
Hearing this, the two of them looked serious at the same time.
"Bao Ke, you lead the team to go and provide support first, I will be there soon." Ya Baimina was the first to open the office door and walked out.
"Got it." Hoshina Soshiro responded, and took off his coat, revealing the combat uniform he had been wearing underneath.
*
You can't close your eyes, absolutely not...
Kurozuka Kirishi used all his willpower to try to open his heavy eyelids, but it was all in vain.
Her consciousness seemed to be dragged by an invisible giant hand, sinking continuously into the bottomless darkness.
Just a moment ago, they had just finished clearing out a group of small monsters with a threat level of about 3 to 4. Before they could catch their breath, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook violently without any warning.
The river water on the nearby bank suddenly became turbulent and violent, and the central area spun rapidly, forming a huge and strange whirlpool. Accompanied by an unsettling sticky sound, a medium-sized monster broke out of the water.
Its upper body resembles a strange jellyfish magnified countless times, its translucent umbrella-shaped body pulsating slightly, and the distortion inside can be vaguely seen.
Under the umbrella, dozens of almost transparent, slender but deadly tentacles dangled, swaying slowly as it appeared.
Even more terrifying was its lower body—it was clearly the thick tentacles of a giant octopus, with a dark, slippery, and sticky skin.
Several powerful tentacles supported its massive body, its surface covered with flickering, spiraling blue luminous lines, emitting an ominous glow in the dim light.
Everyone instantly entered a state of maximum alert, raising their energy weapons and aiming. However, before they could react, the monster's massive mouth, covered with layers of sharp teeth, suddenly opened.
Instead of roaring, it rapidly spewed out dreamy bubbles of varying sizes, reflecting a hazy light.
"Everyone, get out of the way! These bubbles will—!" A team member's terrified cry was suddenly interrupted, and a huge bubble gently but quickly wrapped him up.
The light in his eyes instantly faded, and the strong feeling of dizziness easily overwhelmed his consciousness, and his body fell limply.
Unfortunately, his warning came too late.
The bubbles flew at an astonishing speed, and seemed to have their own consciousness and clear goals. They were difficult to dodge, and ordinary attacks could not easily break them.
In the blink of an eye, the team members on the scene were captured and swallowed by those beautiful traps one after another, losing their ability to resist.
The monster looked at the "harvest" in front of it with satisfaction, and its thick tentacles swung happily, stirring the air and making a heart-pounding sound of breaking wind.
At this moment, the monitoring screen at the command center was rapidly scrolling with relevant information.
[Monster No. 3, with the ability to dream, controls and devours humans by creating illusions. The Seventh Army once participated in the crusade, but the crusade failed and its whereabouts are unknown.]
After reading the information on the file, Kokonogi Yoshimi couldn't help but feel worried for the newcomers:
"Although Monster No. 3 doesn't have much destructive power, its abilities are bizarre, and its defense is astonishing. Of the fifty people trapped, only one survived..."
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